An Analysis of Waitlist Inactivity Among Patients With Ventricular Assist Devices

Posttransplant Long-Term Outcomes for Patients with Ventricular Assist Devices on the Heart Transplant Waitlist

“…5 Our team has further investigated complication rates for LVAD patients while on the waitlist, and we previously found that patients with Heartmate II devices had no difference in risk of temporary inactivity while on the waitlist, and that no LVAD model had a statistically different risk of waitlist inactivity due to deterioration of the patient's condition (including devicerelated complications). 6 The number of patients bridged with durable mechanical circulatory support has increased significantly since their introduction in the field, 4 though recent evidence suggests the implementation of the new heart allocation criteria in 2018 has caused a significant decline in the use of LVADs as durable therapy in favor of temporary mechanical circulatory support such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABPs). 7,8 Due to recent, rapid advances in LVAD technology, contemporary LVAD research has largely focused on morbidity and mortality associated with device implantation and the effect that bridging with durable LVADs has had on short-term (<1 year) posttransplant outcomes.…”